Steering-wheel.



' R. W. LOWELL. v STEERING WHEEL.

4 APPLICATION IILED APR.24,1907.

In: PETERS m gqggmqz u, p. 5.

PATBNTED MAR. 10, 1908.

READ W. LOWELL, OF SEARSPORT, MAINE STEERING-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March ll), 1908.

Application filed April 24, 1907. Serial No. 369,900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, READ W. LOWELL, a

, citizen of the United States of America, and

resident of Searsport, county of Waldo, State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a holding device or becket for securing a steering wheel in a fixed position.

The object of my invention is to construct such a device which will be simple and easily applied to any wheel, adapted to hold the wheel firmly in any desired position Without any slackness or lost motion, which may be readily engaged and disengaged by the foot without releasing the hands from the wheel, and which shall be in such a position that it will not be released by the careless handling of ropes etc.

I carry out these objects by pivoting to the wheel post adjacent to the lower portion of the wheel a becket having a bifurcated arm adapted to engage one of the spokes of thewheel and pivoted to the post so that it may be readily turned down into its horizontal or engaged position by a touch of the foot and turned up out of engagement in the same manner, a spring being provided by which the becket is held in either of these positions.

I illustrate my invention by means of the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a steering wheel fitted with my device showing the shaft in section, Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section taken through the becket and post and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a modification.

In the drawing, A represents the steering wheel which may be of any well known form, a a are the spokes, and B is the wheel post.

The becket is composed of a block 0 having a base of greater relative thickness, which is pivoted to suitable ears 01 secured to the lower part of the post where the becket may readily engage the lower spoke. The becket has a bifurcated arm which is adapted when turned down horizontally to engage the lower spoke, the arm being so formed to fit closely on each side of the spoke, so that there will be no slack and the wheel will be firmly held. That portion of the becket which comes next the post is so formed that it will have a stop or bearing when the becket is in its horizontal position while permitting the becket to turn up against the post. Means are provided for holding the becket both in its lower and upper positions. As here shown, it is held in its lower position by the surface which bears against the post below the pivoting point and in its upper position by a spring e which is secured to the post and arranged to bear against the surface of the becket 'in rear of the pivoting point to keep it pressed upward and out of engagement. Thus when not in use it is turned upward against the post by a slight movement of the foot and is held there by the spring.

When it is desired to hold the wheel in any desired position when lying to, lying at the wharf or under other proper circumstances, the becket is brought down by a touch of the foot, the two parts of the arm are made to embrace the lower end of the lower spoke. The action of the spring and the impinging surface of the becket holds the becket down and the action of the spring holds it up in a well known manner. A

I have shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the ears and spring secured directly to the post proper but it is evident that they may be secured to a plate and the plate secured to the post for convenience in manufacturing and marketing the device and in Fig. 4 I illustrate such a manner of construction in which the becket is secured to a plate f which latter may be readily attached by screws or otherwise to the post. When they are put on the market, I prefer to make them in this manner and with the opening in the becket somewhat too small for the ordinary spoke so that when fitted to the vessel, it may be worked down to exactly fit the spoke.

It will be noted that the advantage of the relatively thicker base of block 0, and the spring cooperating with said base, is that, when the block is pushed up out of operative position, there is a space left between the bifurcated arm of the block and the steeringpost B (or the plate F, as the case may be), whereby a steersman may conveniently insert the toe-portion of his shoe in said space and thus get a bearing or purchase on the block to press the same downward into operative position without releasing his hand from the wheel. This is a very desirable and novel feature of my invention, and one which lends to the device as a Whole great advantage over other structures known to 1116.

I claim A lock for steering-Wheels, comprising a plate adapted to be removably attached to a steering-post and carrying on one face thereof ears and a leaf-spring, and a locking-meniber borne against by said spring and having a base of relatively greater thickness secured by a pivot-pin to said ears, and having locking-fingers extending from said base and positioned to leave a space between the same and the plate When the locking-plate is out 01 operative locking-position, whereby the foot of the steersinan may be inserted in said 15 space to press the locking-member down into locking position, without releasing his hand from the Wheel.

Signed by me at Searsport, Maine, this 19th day of Apr. A. 1)., 1907.

READ \V. LOlVELL. Witnesses J. V. Swnn'rsnn, I. A. ADAMS. 

